Holding on to Hope
by AngelicBadass
Summary: Follows season 1. Natalie Grimes thought the worst when her dad got shot on the job, what she didn't realize was that it wasn't going to get any better from there. Though in denial that her dad is gone, Natalie pushes through the grief and tries to find a place in the post apocalyptic world with her family, not knowing that a surprise is in store for them in the near future.
1. Chapter 1

Georgia. Known for it's intense heat and some pretty killer peaches. That's where Natalie found herself at the end of the world, not in a safe bunker, not in her home. But on the outskirts of Atlanta with the headquarters being a rusty old RV and her dead dads best friend being the leader of the rag-tag group.

Don't get her wrong, out of all the hands that could've been dealt this was one of the less shitty options. Natalie still had her mom, her little brother and was surrounded by relatively nice people. But she's seventeen years old, a teenager, it's in her nature to complain just a little. Internally of course, she wasn't that much of a brat. But when your stuck in the zombie apocalypse, it must be alright to have some woes.

Like how her dad, her favorite parent, was dead (as well as most likely all of her friends but that was another sob story for a different day). The fact he was her favorite parent was not unknown to the adults in her life. Especially when Natalie found out her mom was screwing Shane barely two weeks after he told them her dad died. Carl doesn't know, but Natalie had the misfortune of walking in and the knowledge that they weren't "wrestling". Natalie's relationship with Shane also took a massive tumble, given that she called him a heartless asshole.

Also the fact that one of the two good friends she made at this camp was on a run to the extremely dangerous city of Atlanta, and the other one was a bundle of nerves since her sister went with them. So for the past day Natalie had taken it upon herself to distract Amy from the dangers her sister Andrea was facing, with a wonderful round of cards. Until she dropped her hand and ran to the radio when it started making noise.

" Hello?" Natalie couldn't hear the actual voice from where she was sitting, only a faint murmur, but she could hear Amy just fine.

" Yes your coming through over!" There was another murmur. "Yes were just outside Atlanta! Can you hear me? Hello? Hello?" No response. Amy huffed in frustration " He can't hear me-"

" Try and raise him again," Dale, the camp 'old wise man, with an awesome beard' suggested before looking at Shane whom was striding over with an axe. " You try son, you know how to work this thing."

" Hello, hello, is the person there still on air?" Shane waited a beat before continuing, " This is Officer Shane Walsh broadcasting to person unknown please respond." Another beat. "He's gone." Natalie couldn't decide whether to feel happy that there was at least another person out there or disappointed that they weren't able to reach them. Her mother was the one to voice that opinion out loud.

" There are other's, it's not just us."

" We knew there would be, that's why we left the CV on," Shane responded calmly sensing her Moms attitude. Natalie couldn't resist an eye roll at the small fight that commenced shortly after Shane spoke. It always happened like this, mom would complain, Shane would counter reasonably logically, she would go off and pout and then boom make up sex or whatever privacy a lots them. Another woe in her new post apocalyptic life.

" Hey, hey it's alright bud, go take a seat ok?" Shane ordered Carl who made a move to follow their raging mother, as he went and followed their mom instead, not before eyeing Natalie then pointing at Carl. Natalie made sure to deliberately roll her eyes at Shane before he turned around further irritated. Brushing the wavy brown hair that had fallen into her blue eyes back, she approached her younger brother.

" Hey kid, let's play some cards," she suggested giving his head a gentle shove in the direction of a stump.

" What game?" he asked sullenly, making Natalie raise an eyebrow before continuing.

" How 'bout some gold old fashion war," she supplied cheerfully, however the sad look on his face did not change in the slightest. " Which I'm totally gonna beat you at by the way." That perked him up.

" No way! You know I'm the best at this game!"

" Uh huh, _prove it._" Natalie's relationship with her little bro differed significantly from most teenage girls with their kid siblings. She was actually nice to him, most of the time at least. Probably had to do with the fact that the world ended and their dad was dead. Things like that tend to bring people closer together or farther apart if you were talking Natalie and Lori Grimes. Of course, it was probably only in Natalie's eyes that what Shane and Lori were doing could be considered adultery. Also because she was probably the only one who cared, as she's sure the other campers knew.

Apparently the prospect of a game could not hold Carl back as he jumped up when Natalie was mid deal and briskly made his way towards the tent that he shared with his mother. Natalie thankfully had her own tent and could at least have some privacy, being the near adult she was. Cursing under her breath Natalie followed him.

Until Shane grabbed her by the upper arm as she walked past and spun her around to face him.

" Natalie-"

" What Shane?"

" Look I know this is difficult for you, your mom and I…"

" Ok, I'm not my mother's father, you don't need to ask for my permission on anything."

" Well I know we haven't really talked about this-"

" And I don't really care, it's the end of the world, do whatever you want, whoever you want, I'm not gonna stop you," Natalie said with a shrug, but after receiving a disbelieving look she continued, "Doesn't mean I have to like it, but it's not like I can do anything about it right?" Shane opened his mouth to speak some more but then shut it after thinking it through. He let go of her arm as soon as Carl walked passed and awkwardly patted her shoulder before walking away. Shaking her head she continued towards the tent where her mom sat.

" What'd Shane talk to you about?" Her moms fingers were taping her knees in a nervous way.

" What do you think?"

" Nat…"

" Mom, I already told you my thoughts and opinions on the whole thing, you don't need to keep bringing it up. Seriously. It's like the last thing I want to think or talk about." Her mom moved back into the tent and sat on one of the cots, she then gestured to the one across from her. After some hesitation Natalie flopped down on the cot and rubbed her eyes with the heels of her palms.

" Well, then what do you think about?"

" I really don't want to have this conversation,"

" Baby, it's the end of the world, and I know the reason your mad at me is the whole Shane thing, but he's been helping me-"

" Ya, clearly," Natalie scoffed flopping her hands back to her sides, her mom gave her an exasperated look.

" Helping us," she continued, " Natalie, I know you loved your dad, I did, Carl did, but he's dead honey, your gonna have to accept that. Sooner rather than later, especially with the situation we're in." Natalie sat up and wrapped her arms around her knees.

" I realize that but-" Natalie took a shuddering breath, as all the fondest memories of her dad came rolling through her brain one at a time " I can't, I can't do it." Natalie couldn't hold back the tears any longer. The ones she held when she thought she was being strong, when dad got shot, when she saw the nasty dead man take a chomp out of their next door neighbor, when Atlanta got bombed. The strength went away when someone actually made her open her mouth about her dad, made her actually think.

" Oh baby," her mom muttered before climbing behind Natalie on the bed and hugging her, something they hadn't done in a long time. It had always been dad. This made the waterworks come even harder as Natalie turned to grasp on her mother tightly as she ran her fingers through her hair. This lasted a few minutes before her mom hit a nasty snarl.

" Do you ever brush your hair?" her mom chuckled, and Natalie couldn't help but give a watery one in return.

" Occasionally," she replied smiling slightly, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand.

" We'll get through this okay?" Her mom said brushing the damp wavy brown strands out of Natalie's face.

" Okay," Natalie responded giving a half hearted smile.

So maybe her mom wasn't all that bad.

/

Rick brushed the photo of his family gently. God he hoped he'd find them soon. Lori, even though they had their issues before he was shot, what he wouldn't give to have her in his arms again. If only to yell at him about how stupid he was to get shot and leave them behind. He focused on Carl next, oh how he loved his little boy, doted on him. He was the one who inherited most of his moms looks. But to be able to hug his kid again, to still be able to teach him all the things about being a grown up, thankfully they've already had the chance to do the whole baseball thing before the world ended. The last person in his family was his eldest kid and daughter Natalie. Though she'd been born while both Lori and Rick were in high school, that didn't stop Rick from loving her any less.

Rick fondly remembered the time she came home crying after a boy cheated on her and when the boy came to the front door he was met with the barrel of a shotgun and Shane standing next to him imposingly. Lori was absolutely horrified, but seeing the grin on his daughters face was beyond worth it and he was glad he could fulfill that southern stereotype.

Within their family, it appeared they fulfilled all the stereotypes. Carl being momma's little boy and Natalie was definitely daddy's little girl. Cheater boy wasn't the only time Rick had had to play threatening cop, and while a lot of the times Natalie claimed it embarrassed her, she wasn't able to hide a smile from him completely. Rick was also the first one Natalie turned to in times of need, and he was generally always there to help.

With that memory came a fast track of others, getting married, the births of each kid, the grand canyon road trip, taking Natalie to the gun range, taking both kids to get ice cream after Carl's baseball game, Natalie attacking him in a hug after a particularly dangerous police investigation, zooming around in the patrol car with Carl. It took all Rick could muster to not start crying right then and there.

But he toughed it up, removed the photo from the visor and put it in his pocket before climbing out of the car. He had to find gas and then his family.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello! Thanks for all the follows and favs! Much obliged ;). Here's ch 2. Now I will say this, I don't have a set schedule for this story, but I will update as soon as I'm able! Thanks again for reading!**

Whistling softly some random tune, Natalie Grimes contentedly picked berries as she continued on her day after her meltdown. A menial task but it left her time to think, and have time to process instead of having the sound of thirty campers intruding on her brain waves. Though she would normally have Amy with her, it was a welcome surprise that she went to go find mushrooms instead, Amy was cool like that, knowing when to give someone space.

If there was one thing she could thank Shane for teaching her, it was how to tell the poisonous berries from the edible ones, Natalie thought as she avoided one particular poisonous bush.

Sighing Natalie thought back on her previous talk with her mom. So while she may not like some of the decisions her mom makes, she's not awful. In fact she thinks that's the closest they've been in a few years. It takes a weight off her shoulders, knowing that she's at least talked to her mom and admitted her feelings. As well as realize maybe, just maybe she could give up the hope-

No. Not quite there yet.

Shaking her head she trudges her way back to camp waving at Sophia and Carol who are at their tent as she passes. She spots Amy but no mom, who is generally in charge of produce cleaning.

" Hey Amy, where's my mom?"

" Dunno, she kinda just leapt off into the woods with some bucket." One might not think it was an insinuation for something, but oh boy was it. They honestly go at it like rabbits and that's what irritates Natalie the most.

" Ah," Natalie replied awkwardly, Amy looking about the same. Regardless of the age, older people having sex was gross. " So how was the amazing picking of mushrooms?"

" It went fabulously, though I'm not sure if they're edible or not but we'll have to see," Amy replied giving a scrunched look at the bucket in front of her.

" Never fear, the amazing survival expert is here!" Natalie announced, " Gimme."

" You're so weird," Amy laughed passing Natalie the bucket. She began pawing through the mushrooms, plucking out the suspicious ones. Thanking once again Shane's need to teach her survival skills, not only now but as a child. He had been apparently trying to go for the whole "rugged uncle" thing. Not anything too crazy, but little things like picking out an edible plant from a poisonous one.

" Pfft, says the mermaid queen," Natalie sniffed, before smirking.

" Hey, the loving of mermaids is nothing to be ashamed of, though being a gaming nerd…"

" I miss my Playstation 2…" Natalie sighed, " and 3."

" I'm sure your mom loved that," Amy chuckled.

" All she saw me play was Little Big Planet… she never saw me play Call of Duty," Natalie said smirking.

" Was it Uncle Shane who let you?"

" Sometimes, sometimes it was my-" Natalie had to stop there, she didn't want to have another round of waterworks. Since apparently that happens now.

" Oh," Amy muttered, " seems a lot more entertaining than fishing."

" Oh come on, you said you loved it," Natalie teased.

" It was only an issue when it was a million degrees outside, I mean you see my skin right?"

" Must be rough."

" Shut up!" Amy shoved her slightly, while Natalie stuck her tongue out at her. Thank God for your tan skin mom, Natalie thought. Both girls then continued their sorting in a comfortable silence.

/

A couple hours later, Amy's calm had definitely run it's course as she paced around the camp waiting impatiently for Andrea. Natalie was also nervous, as Glenn was also on the trip with Andrea, but hid it as she watched Jim and Dale work on the RV intently, with Jim giving her pointers in between. Natalie thought that knowing the basics of fixing a vehicle were important in an apocalypse and she got a lot of opportunities to learn from the rusty RV breaking down all the time. Jim and Dale were more than willing to share their knowledge as they agreed with her.

" That hose isn't long for this world is it?" Dale asked.

" No sir," Jim muttered."

" How the hell are we going to find a replacement?"

" Question, what exactly does the radiator hose do again?" Natalie asked also peering into the front of the RV.

" Helps, keep the engine from overheating, or freezing depending on the weather. So it's pretty crucial to the running of the vehicle something we'll definitely want fixed," Jim explained.

" Ah."

" It's late they should've been back by now," Amy blurted out mid pace. Natalie gave a slight sigh as she was once again reminded of the current situation. She'd met Glenn shortly after she'd met Dale, Amy and Andrea, as well as Carol and her family. Being close in age it kind of gave the ability to have quite a bit in common, as well as the fact her interests were different than most girls, going back to the gaming thing. And while she wasn't the all knower of cars, she appreciated the style and running of a good car. Fast, fast is generally good.

People (as in Amy, her mom and a lot of women in the camp) have wondered, some vocally, if anything was going on between the two, and the answer was no. Though close in age, they weren't close enough and both realized that, as well as probably just better off being friends anyways, there were no hard feelings there.

Doesn't mean Natalie doesn't get anxious if he's in a life threatening situation however.

" Worrying won't make it better," Dale advised, and Natalie had to agree it does add a lot more stress.

" Yo! Nat! Come over here!" Shane called cheerfully from where he was sitting by Carl.

" Better go see what he wants," Dale advised looking at her from his work. Smiling but shaking her head she made her way over to the two.

" Yes Shane?"

" Carl here has been learning the wonderful art of knot tying and I must say he's gotten better than you!" Shane explained, grinning and nudging Carl who was snickering. Natalie preferred Shane like this, not when he was all caught up in her moms business, but fun old "Uncle Shane", pre-apocalypse. It made him easier to be around.

" Oh really, let's see this _legendary _knot tying you have going on," Natalie huffed, crouching down, " as that's what it would have to be to beat mine." Nat winked at Carl. She then watched Carl go through the various knots, the bowline, figure 8, double overhand. Until a radio call came in.

" Hello! Base Camp! Can anybody out there hear me?" Dale then made a beeline for the Radio. " Base Camp! This is T-Dog! Anybody hear me?"

" Hello? Hello? Receptions bad on this end! Repeat, repeat!" Dale ordered into the talkie and then there was further static.

" We're trapped in the department store! Geeks all over the place hundreds of them! We're surrounded!" The air thickened as Natalie's breath caught in her throat.

" T-Dog! Repeat that last!" Nothing.

" He said the department store," her mom commented.

" I heard that too," Dale said sounding stressed.

" Shane-"

" No way," he interrupted, " we do not go after them and we do not risk the group." Enter Shane Natalie doesn't like.

" What do you mean-?"

" You're just gonna leave her there?" Amy cut across Natalie's protest.

" Amy…" Shane hesitated before adding, " and Nat, I know this is not easy."

" She volunteered to go!" Amy seethed, " To help the rest of us!"

" I know, I know, she knew the risks right?" Natalie nearly scoffed out loud, how could they just leave them there to die, especially since they know where the group is trapped. " She's trapped, she's gone, we just have to deal with that. There's nothing we can do."

" She's my sister, you son of a bitch," Amy snarled before stomping off, her mom following after sharing a tense look with Shane.

" Nat-" Shane began, but she took off after Amy leaving him behind with a confused and scared Carl.

After Natalie and her mom slightly calmed Amy down, both girls were put on dishes duty.

" With Shane it's like there's moments where he can be a great guy, but then quickly turn into the biggest douche bag in the universe, sorry you got to see the douche bag," Natalie said, scrubbing a plate glancing at Amy whom she was pleased to see smiled slightly.

" All that bipolar attitude must cause a huge headache," Amy remarked.

" Like you wouldn't believe, dunno how my mom stands it half the time,"

" How is that? By the way…" Amy ventured, hesitantly. But Natalie just shrugged.

" Sure I was pissed at first but now it's like, do what you want, your adults and make your own decisions," Natalie sighed. Just then sirens could be heard in the distance. " The hell?" Natalie muttered standing up and moving past the RV.

" Well I'll be dammed," Dale mused.

" What is it?" Amy asked frantically.

" Stolen Car is my guess," Dale answered. Said stolen car rolled up the dirt path before screeching to a halt and having a very excited Korean hop out of it.

" Glenn!" Natalie exclaimed, rushing over to him and pretty much glomping him.

" Oh my God! Nat do you see this thing?" He yelled excitedly over the noise after hugging her back. Natalie laughed before being taken over by other loud yells.

" Turn that damn thing off!" Dale yelled.

" I don't know how!" Glenn responded, still grinning like a maniac.

" Where's Andrea?" " Pop open the damn hood!" Those were from Amy and Shane respectively.

" Okay! Okay!" Glen exclaimed popping open the hood, before being attacked by Amy again.

" Where's Andrea?" She yelled.

" She's fine! Everyones fine!" He exclaimed as shane pulled the plug on the alarm.

" The hell was that?" Shane questioned angrily, " are you trying to draw every walker from miles around?" Glenn's face fell dramatically

" Well the sound probably echoed through the canyon, they probably won't pinpoint a sound," Shane shot Dale a look, " I'm not defending him I'm just saying… Wouldn't hurt you to think things through next time!"

" Sorry," Glenn said quietly, " I got a cool car?" Natalie snorted and nudged him. Just then a large truck pulled up and Natalie could practically feel Amy's excitement. Just then Andrea came tumbling out of the back.

" Amy?"

" Andrea!" Amy sobbed running to greet her, then Morales was reunited with his family. Natalie looked out of the corner of her eye to see Carl talking with their mom and frowned. It does suck, having no one to reunite with like that. Sure Natalie had Glenn, but he was a friend that's nothing like seeing a family member alive and well. She didn't realize she sighed out loud until an arm went over her shoulder and shook her slightly, Natalie gave Glenn a half smile in return.

"You are a welcome sight, thought we'd lost you folks for sure!" Dale exclaimed as he embraced Morales.

" How'd you get out of there anyways?"

" New guy," Glenn answered, removing his arm from Natalie " got us out."

" New guy?" Shane asked confused.

" Ya! Just got into town, hey helicopter boy! Come say hello!" The air literally froze as Natalie spotted who got out of the truck.


End file.
